$1,400 stimulus checks proposed under Biden plan not enough for progressive Democrats

President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled a $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan that would provide $1,400 stimulus checks to Americans, but some progressive Democrats are still pushing for $2,000 payments.

Biden’s emergency plan, announced Thursday, also includes extended unemployment benefits and money for schools.

“We will finish the job of getting a total of $2,000 in cash relief to people who need it the most,” Biden said during his speech Thursday. “The $600 already appropriated is simply not enough.”

The $900 billion coronavirus relief package signed into law in December included $600 direct payments to most Americans, half the size of the checks sent out under the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, which provided $1,200 payments to individuals who met the income threshold.

U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Cori Bush say there should be $2,000 stimulus checks instead of $1,400.

“$2,000 means $2,000,” Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat representing New York in the U.S. House of Representatives, told The Washington Post. “$2,000 does not mean $1,400.”

Ocasio-Cortez previously co-wrote with Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan an amendment for $2,000 stimulus checks.

Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, called on Congress to “immediately” pass $2,000 checks.

“$600 wasn’t enough,” Omar tweeted Friday. “The American people are struggling to make ends meet and need relief. We must immediately pass $2,000 stimulus checks.”

Bush, a Missouri Democrat, tweeted Thursday criticizing Biden’s proposal: “$1,400 ≠ $2,000,” she wrote.

“The people deserve, demand and require $2,000 recurring monthly survival checks,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts wrote on Twitter.

Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat representing Massachusetts, reiterated support for legislation he helped write that would provide monthly $2,000 payments for people who make up to $120,000 during the pandemic.

“The new Congress needs to pass my legislation with [Sen. Bernie Sanders] to give people $2,000 every month,” Markey wrote on Twitter Friday.

Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones of New York replied to Markey on Twitter Friday: “Count me in.”

Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat representing West Virginia, initially told The Washington Post he “absolutely” doesn’t support $2,000 stimulus checks but later clarified that he could if they were “targeted” relief.

“I don’t know where in the hell $2,000 came from,” Manchin said. “I swear to God I don’t. That’s another $400 billion dollars.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Biden’s plan.

“We are pleased the Biden-Harris package includes much of what Congressional Democrats have been fighting for, including an increase in direct payments to $2,000 for American families,” the leaders said.

Biden previously pledged to Georgia voters in the last days of the Senate runoff campaigns that $2,000 checks would be passed.

“That money would go out the door immediately, to help people who are in real trouble,” Biden said. “Think about what it will mean to your lives — putting food on the table, paying rent.”

Biden has said that getting COVID-19 under control and kick-starting the economy are among his top priorities, but the relief package will face challenges in both the House and Senate.

President Donald Trump demanded Congress increase the “ridiculously low” $600 direct payments included in the relief deal passed in December to $2,000 per person and delayed signing the legislation.

This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 2:23 PM with the headline "$1,400 stimulus checks proposed under Biden plan not enough for progressive Democrats."